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Managing accounts payable (AP) is a fundamental part of modern business, and that makes it a smart place to look for cost-saving improvements like automation. 

What Is Accounts Payable?

Accounts payable, or simply “payables,” are the amounts your business owes to vendors, employees, and suppliers for goods or services you’ve received but have not yet paid for. Your company’s balance sheet shows your total AP balance under current liabilities, and your cash flow statement reveals the increase or decrease in total AP from the prior period.

AP matters because your business reputation depends in part on keeping your accounts in good standing. To do that, you need to know what you owe to whom, and precisely when you need to pay every invoice. 

Why Automate Accounts Payable?

The main reason to automate AP is that manual AP is time-consuming and costly. Manual AP requires data to be entered and verified by hand, invoices to be tracked for approval, and payments to be facilitated through whichever methods the business uses. All of that takes a lot of time and invites errors. It also ties up team members who could otherwise be performing business-critical tasks.


In contrast, automated AP solutions offer significant business benefits, including the ability to:

  • Improve efficiency and reduce costs
  • Improve the accuracy of financial information and reports
  • Eliminate late payments by scheduling automatic payments  
  • Increase visibility  
  • Easily track spending across multiple companies
  • Create an automatic audit trail
  • Build in separation of duties with defined user roles

Which Automated AP Solution Is Right for You?

There are many AP automation software solutions to choose from. Sage Intacct now offers a new feature for complete AP Automation, including automatic importing as well as integrated ACH payments. 

There’s also the Sage Intacct Accounts Payable software. From within your Sage Intacct accounting system, the AP software module makes it easy to manage the entire AP process, from creating vendors and bills to approvals, payments, reconciliation, and reporting.

Among the many reasons we recommend AP automation with Sage Intacct is that it gives your business complete visibility and traceability, with centralized, electronic access to bills, approvals, payment status, posting details, and audit trails. 

Need Help with AP Automation?

The experienced professionals at ACI Consulting can help you decide whether it makes sense for your business to switch to an automated AP solution and, if so, which one is most likely to meet your needs. Contact us today to get started.